Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

Housing fund pointless without money

None, and that's bad news in a state where a third of jobs are low-wage and families struggle to find affordable places to live.

The Alabama Housing Trust Fund was created by the Legislature in 2012 without any revenue source, a senseless blunder.

That can be rectified, however, if lawmakers adopt proposals from the Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama and state Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham.

Todd will file a bill to double the state's modest mortgage record fee from 15 cents per $100 to 30 cents and funnel $20 million of annual receipts to the housing trust fund.

The money would help developers build or refurbish homes and fund down payment, rental assistance and homelessness prevention programs.

A report from LIHCA spells out why support for the trust fund is critical.

"Alabama lacks nearly 90,000 homes for individuals and families earning less than $16,700 per year, including individuals making minimum wage, young families just starting out, and seniors and those on fixed incomes," writes report author Keivan Deravi, an economist at Auburn University Montgomery.

Case in point: In Montgomery County, the estimated average hourly wage for renters is $10.90, considered enough for a full-time worker to rent a two-bedroom apartment for $567 per month and still have adequate money for food and other expenses.

But fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the area is $710 per month.

In the state's Black Belt counties, the housing affordability gap is much worse. Statewide, 128,000 low-income renters spend more than half their income on housing, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Deravi's report also details benefits that accrue from investing in affordable housing.

Over a 10-year period, the $20 million in annual revenue would have an economic impact of $1.1 billion, boost state and municipal coffers by $151.5 million and create 6,500 full-time jobs.

Collateral benefits would include more stable home life for low-income families aided by the trust and revitalization of blighted neighborhoods and communities.

Using mortgage fees to help pay for affordable housing isn't a revolutionary idea. More than 40 states around the nation do just that, with successful results.